


Burned Out From A Joy Ride

by ToTheMax



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Angst, Gen, Like, Post-SvSr, deceit does not have a good time, which means spoikers for SvSr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24053494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToTheMax/pseuds/ToTheMax
Summary: After such an exhausting day, Remus decides that Deceit is swaying too much than he would have liked. He decides to try and set him straight.[SPOILERS FOR PUTTING OTHERS FIRST: SELFLESSNESS VS SELFISHNESS REDUX]
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	Burned Out From A Joy Ride

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Fanders this is my first sanders sides fanfic, I'm still getting characterizations down but i have a newfound love for snake man and I'm desperstely waiting for Thomas' merch store to restock so I can get that sweet merch
> 
> Heads up in case the tags and summary wasnt enough for you: if you havent seen SvSr, I suggest doing that if you dont want to be spoiled! I'll be using Deceit's revealed name as well as mentioning things that happened in the episode. 
> 
> If you're all caught up and wanna get into it, BE WARNED! This fic has minor cursing, sexual jokes, as well as a bit of violence as well as just general unpleasant arguing between Remus and Deceit, the dark sides are fightinngnggggg

Janus felt the pit in his stomach darken as he felt a new presence in his room.

His fingers tightened around each other, the claws on his scaly hand digging into his other as he hunched more forward on the counter. Above him flickered a dull yellow light, the only light on in his room at the moment, and all he used it for was to stare at the shadows his hands cast on the countertop. 

Behind him came an ugly snort, letting Janus know who came in. "What do you want?" He demanded, in a voice that was scratchy from disuse.

"I take it that it didn't go so well?" Remus wasn't saddened by the statement; a thin smile shone from under his mustache, and his hands were clasped together with excitement. "Did you ever bring up that little notion I gave you?"

Janus growled, a hiss in the back of his throat. "No, as a matter of fact, I didn't." Lying was his specialty, obviously, but Remus's suggestions of lies to blurt were rather distasteful, even for him. "There's not much good it would have done for the situation, anyway."  _ Or any situation, for that matter. _

In the silence that followed, Janus listened as Remus stepped closer, his boots clicking against the hardwood floors and the noise resounding to almost hurt in Janus's ears. "Well, what  _ is _ good in a situation like this? I mean," Remus paused to giggle a little, "everybody's kind of a trashfire right now. What's a few more drops of gasoline?" He tilted his head, settling his elbow on the counter beside Janus. "Or blood. Blood can work as fire fuel, right? Or maybe stomach acid, or-"

"If you wanted the situation to be worse, maybe you should have popped in," Janus snapped, cutting Remus off and pacing away from the other Dark Side. He untangled his hands, swiping away a dot of blood. "I, for one, was trying to calm it down."

"Hm." Remus laid his chin on his hand, eyes glimmering. "Well, isn't that a first for you? What happened to impersonating Sweet Daddy to get them to listen to you?"

Janus groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. " _ Please _ , never call him that again."

"...what about Good Daddy?"

"Oh, _much better._ "

"Oh, good. I was also thinking of calling him Pretty—"

Janus turned on his heel abruptly, facing the Side with a short, frustrated hiss. The noise caused Remus to jump, and Janus even felt the floor rumble with the vibrations. They held each other's gaze for a long, silent moment.

Then, Remus chuckled, regaining his posture. "Wow. You really  _ did  _ crash and burn out there. Let me guess." 

"Please don't."

Remus shuffled in place before gesturing with his arms. "When Patton turned into a frog, he ripped out of all his clothes, and everyone bore witness to his froggy d–"

"God, I hate you," Janus growled, pushing past him to go into his living room to get away from the other Side. He gave up on the flee rather quick, as there weren't many places to go in his room. 

He sat down on his couch as Remus approached again, but this time he kept a talking distance. "Do you really?" Remus challenged. His smirk deepening as he crossed his arms.

"Yes." Janus glared from over his hand, covering most of his face. "Now can you do me a favor and leave?"

Remus hummed and clicked his tongue with a shake of his head. The living room light flickered on to illuminate both of them in a brighter yellow glow, and Janus could see the shadows of rage behind his gleeful smile. "Wow, Jannie. For someone who's obsessed with deceit, you're  _ really  _ lacking in the lying department right now!"

Janus let out another low animalistic hiss as he spoke. " _ Please.  _ Just get out." He removed his hat to run his clawed hand through his hair, trying to find some solace in scratching his scalp.

"Not until you apologize."

Janus looked up at that, meeting Remus' eyes. Now, Remus' face held no tones of glee, a sharp contrast to his face mere moments before. His mouth was now downturned, eyes black with anger. The shift in tone had startled him, to say the least. "Apologize?" Janus slowly echoed. "For what?"

Remus didn't move, other than to cock his eyebrow. "Really, I thought you'd be more considerate." The bite in his voice made Janus squirm.

"About  _ what _ ?" Janus raised his hand in a  _ what the hell  _ gesture, fitting his hat back on. He felt his heart starting to pick up pace, but he had gotten used to masking his feelings, so Remus didn't pick up on it.

"Oh, I don't know." Remus snapped into his movements suddenly, his tone venomous with sarcasm. "I guess calling me the  _ evil _ twin hurts just as much as hitting your elbow on a doorframe." He threw his hands on the air as he paced in front of Janus. "Or, maybe, just as much as kicking a wall with a toothpick underneath your toenail!"

Janus cringed, both at Remus's…  _ colorful _ imagery, as well as remembrance of the insult he used to antagonize Roman. "Really?" He couldn't help but ask, disbelieved that Remus could even feel hurt by words. "You're mad about-"

"Yes, really." Despite Janus' dismissive attitude, Remus didn't falter. His crossed arms were now rigidly tight against his chest, a sneer twitching the right side of his mouth upwards in a nearly-snarl. The heavy bags under his eyes seemed to get darker, though it may have just been the lighting.

Remus stayed put, impatiently waiting to hear what Janus had to say. But the other Side said nothing, staring at his hands. His sneer grew at this. "Well," he said, his voice cutting through the thick silence, "if I'm the evil twin, what does that make you?"

"Excuse me?" Janus finally blurted, snapping his eyes up. His expression, once remorse, was now hardening into indignance. 

Remus' sneer faltered back into his signature smirk. "You can't deny facts, Janus, as much as you pretend to. We're a lot more alike than you want to be."

Janus snuffed. "I'm a lot less foul-mouthed."

Remus showed his teeth before covering his mouth partially with his hand. "Aw, but your mouth is still as slippery as—"

"—Sshut it!" Janus stood then, trying to keep his composure. The last thing he'd want is to stoop to Remus' level. "I've had enough of you invading my space. Get.  _ Out! _ "

"Why?" Remus's playful grin lessened to just a teasing leer. "Is it because I'm right?"

Janus scoffed, looking to the side. "Right about what?"

Remus cocked his head to the side. "Janus, listen here, sweetie."

"Don't call me that."

"...Honey."

Janus felt another hiss rising in his throat. "Two strikes."

Remus snapped his fingers, and suddenly Janus found himself sitting back down on the couch with Remus towering right over him. 

"Janus." His voice was dark, gravelly, almost uncharacteristic of him. His eyes were deadly serious, no hints of play or joking. "I want you to listen, because this is something you need to hear."

Janus had no choice but to let Remus talk.

"I know, as well as you do, that  _ they  _ are never going to accept you." Remus took a couple steps back, only a little satisfied that he still had Janus' attention. "Do you know why?"

Janus bit his tongue.

"It's because of Virgil. He has Thomas and all the others wrapped around his pretty little finger, and they hang on his every word. They'll listen to  _ anything  _ he says."

"Stop," Janus managed, looking up with an undeniable fear in his dual-toned eyes.

Remus, however, didn't drop the subject. "Don't you know all the horrible things he's told them about us? How despicable we are?"

"I'm not–!"

"Oh, don't remove yourself from the equation!" Remus waved his hand dismissively. "Virgil doesn't make it a secret how he feels about the two-faced  _ snake _ —"

"—Stop!" Janus pleaded again, his voice cracking. He recoiled when Remus took a threatening stomp forward, his bared teeth enough to keep him quiet.

"—The snake that only wants to feed Thomas lies." Remus took a fistful of Janus' cloak, pulling the Side dangerously close to his face. "The snake that tempts him with sin in the Garden.  _ That  _ is how Virgil sees you, how  _ they _ see you!" 

"Stop it!" Janus dug his claws into Remus's wrist in an attempt to free himself, but the Duke just grinned sickly. "Remus, get off—"

"—Get off? All over your couch? I didn't peg you for the messy type, Jannie." Remus let a giddy laugh escape, and he finally threw Janus back into the couch and staggered back a couple steps, eyeing the Side with the wild eyes of a starving predator. "Don't change the subject. You know I'm right."

Janus tried to hiss in a threat, but it came out a choked, fearful noise. He opted to speak instead. "Right about what? You haven't made a single true statement this entire time!"

Remus sarcastically laughed, waggling his finger. "Ah, there's your lying. You still got it!"

Janus growled. "What, are you just bitter that Thomas trusts me now, and you're still living in your brother's shadow?" Unlike his remark towards Roman, Janus didn't feel a twinge of regret at the words leaving his mouth.

Remus, however, took the insult in stride with a sudden loud cackle. "Oh!  _ Trusts  _ you?" He hooted. "Wow, okay! That's what you think is going on!?"

"Thomas said it himself," Janus snapped, trying not to let his hesitation in his words show. "He said he trusted me."

"Yeah, and just how long do you think that's gonna last?" Remus bit at his thumbnail as he locked eyes with Janus. "Sure, you're buddy-buddy now, but the second Virgil stops sulking and actually  _ does  _ something again, you're right back to square one." He looked down at his nail, which hanging off his finger by just a small bit. 

"You don't know that."

"Hm…. It's highly likely." He raised his eyebrows. "Once Virgil starts talking some sense into Thomas– since I think Logan is pretty out of commission now– you're gonna be right back here, stuck with us."

Janus's eye twitched.

"All they'll see you as is the slick and slimy snake, corrupting Thomas' pretty little moral compass–"

"Enough." Janus was done playing around. He took a step forward.

Remus was unperturbed, more focused on his nail. "They're never going to listen to you, Janus. All you are is a liar."

Janus flexed his clawed hand as a warning. "Would you just—"

"All they will ever see—"

_ "SHUT UP!!"  _

Janus thrust his clawed hand forward, digging into Remus' throat and lifting the Dark Side off the floor.  _ That's right,  _ he found himself thinking as he watched Remus' eyes widen, and heard him start to choke.  _ You better be fucking scared of me. _

Janus felt warmth ooze over his fingers, but before he could register the fact that it was blood, he threw Remus as hard as he could, watching with horrified satisfaction as the Duke slammed into the wall, his head connecting with both the wall and then the floor.

Remus breathed heavily as he tried to shift his arms under himself. One of his hands reached onto the ground in front of him, the other hidden under him, pressed to his throat as he started to cough.

Janus stood stock still, eyes wide with horror. Almost as if he were Professor Oak in a pokemon game, Thomas's voice rang in his head.

_ "No baby steps! No steps– or throwing people down them… no violence!" _

_ No violence…  _

With a retching sound, Remus righted himself, one hand still to his bloody throat as he staggered to his feet uneasily. For a second, all he did was catch his breath and cough up blood.

"Remus, I am…" Janus swallowed hard, holding his hand out, but all he saw was the blood staining his scaly skin. "I-I didn't mean to…"

Remus silenced him with a strained huff. "You know I'm right," he said. "You're proving it yourself. All they will ever see you as is a liar, and a snake, and a  _ villain _ ." He managed to smile through his pain, a twisted sight. "If I'm the evil twin, you're the evil snake."

"That's not true," Janus said, but the words faltered and tumbled out of his mouth. "You-you're wrong."

"Am I?" Remus's voice returned to normal, an effect of his healing, but he kept the blood on his neck as he stepped closer. "Are you forgetting how they treated you after you spilled your heart to them?" It was Remus's turn to step forward, and Janus' to step back.

"You ripped your heart right from out of your ribs…" As if to demonstrate, Remus clawed at his own chest, leaving trails of blood as he loosened the collar of his suit, his voice wavering more with every word. "...and let it spill all over the floor, staining the carpet, and they  _ laughed _ . They  _ mocked you _ !"

Janus tried moving back more, but his calf bumped against the edge of the couch. He could only let Remus stalk closer to him. "B-But, Roman—"

"—Roman was only the beginning. What do you  _ really  _ think Logan's thinking now that you're not impersonating him anymore?" With a flick of his wrist, he presented a pair of square black glasses and fitted them over his eyes. "Or mister,  _ 'standing in the place of one of my four best friends,' _ " He mimicked Patton's voice with terrifying accuracy, one that contested with Janus's impression.

"Roman would have a fucking frat party if you never showed up again," Remus went on, abandoning the glasses with a small puff of air, instead donning a crudely-fashioned crown, talking like his twin would.  _ "'Oh, thank GOD that snake is never showing up again! That creep won't be around to sway Thomas to the dark side!'"  _ Once more, he willed away his prop with a flick of the wrist, now staying silent as he studied Janus's expression.

Janus wanted to fire back, to hiss something to make him leave, but the longer he stayed silent the more Remus' words sank in. The more plausible the scenario seemed.

_ No, wait. This is exactly what he plays at. It's what he wants me to believe. _

"You're wrong," Janus croaked; the words sounded foreign with how much he had said it.

Remus just chuckled lowly. "They don't care, Janus. Never have, never will. It's us... versus them."

Janus reached up and fixed his cloak, shaking his hand to dispel the blood from it. "No," he said. "I know a lie when I hear it."

Remus tilted his head as he shrugged simply. "Then why do you believe me?"

Before Janus could blink, he was gone.

Janus finally let the tears building in the back of his eyes to flow as he collapsed on his couch, hunching forward and raking his fingers through his hair. His hat fell off in the process, but he didn't care. He had much more pressing matters to discern.

_ What if Remus is right? There's no way Roman wants to ever see me again, and who's to say Virgil won't sway the others? I treated Logan so horribly… Patton would rather be with them than me. _

"What am I gonna do?" He whimpered aloud, the fear in his voice sending another wave of anguish over him. 

He didn't even notice the much softer, kinder presence that had risen into the room. He was too trapped in his hunched ball with fistfuls of hair, trying not to cry too loud.

He didn't move when the couch dipped next to him, and a comforting arm draped over his shoulders, pressing Janus' head into a soft cardigan. Janus was surprised, but not unwelcome to, the sudden company. In fact, Patton's hand gently rubbing his back made the crying easier.

"One step at a time," Patton muttered gently, softly smiling at Janus. "It's all a big, scary mess right now, but it's gonna work itself out. It always does, in the end."

Janus didn't reply, he couldn't even if he wanted to. His throat was too thick with sobs. But he did loosen his fingers from his hair, just the slightest bit. He hoped that Patton understood his silent  _ thank-you. _

Patton understood. He gave Janus' back a reassuring pat. "One step at a time, kiddo," he murmured again, and this time it sounded like he was telling himself more than Janus. "One step at a time."

**Author's Note:**

> Patton: I have adopted you, theres no say in the matter
> 
> Janus: why would I argue against this
> 
> Sorry if theres any typos it's just after 3 am


End file.
